Health service advertises for strategic directors for new commissioning body

The NHS Commissioning Board is recruiting two senior posts – a director of open information and a director of intelligence – as it prepares to take on its full statutory responsibilities in April next year.

The board, which will lead on data standards and approve the signing off of data projects in the NHS, said that the director of open information will be responsible for strategic information standards and information governance. The post holder will work with other organisations across the whole system to “exploit open information and contribute to developing a vibrant market”.

The postholder will report to the director of intelligence.

An advertisement for the £105,000 a year job follows prime minister David Cameron’s announcement of a consultation on changing the NHS constitution so that the “default setting” is for patients’ data to be used for research unless the patient opts out.

According to Cameron, the UK is going to be the “world leader” in making real-time patient data available for drug development, he said.

In return for a salary of £132,500, the director of intelligence will be expected to lead on the development and implementation of strategy for all areas of customer relations, information and intelligence. This will include ensuring patients, the public and service providers have the information required to make informed decisions and choices.

The postholder will report to Tim Kelsey, the NHS national director for patients and information. Kelsey joined the board in July from the Cabinet Office where he was executive director for transparency and open data.